PEBBLE
Life is a great and wondrous mystery, and the only thing we know that we have for sure is what is right here, right now. Don’t miss it.
-Leo Buscaglia, shared by Ann in Acton, MA
BOULDER
You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.
-Thomas Merton, shared by Militsa in Puerto Rico
PONDER
Here. Now.
If you’ve been in the room or on a Zoom in the last few years when I’m delivering a keynote address or sharing tips in a workshop, there’s a really good chance you know about the HERE NOW ritual I originally created as a pre-presentation ritual; something I’d do in a quiet corner right before hopping up on stage to fire up a crowd. These three deep breaths, thinking HERE on the inhale and NOW on the exhale, began as a private ritual that I never told anyone about, and then gradually became infused into my opening remarks of most presentations I give.
Let me pause here and invite you to actually try it out. All three times, really take the moment to do this, for realsies:
Here, now. Here, now. Here, now.
Doing it even one time makes a difference. For me, I’ve found that it takes all three repetitions to really pull me away from my almost constant fretting about the past and worrying about the future. It helps me arrive a little more fully in the present moment.
The great irony is that exploring the possibilities of the present moment allows us to more effectively process and learn from the past. It also helps us more efficiently prepare for the future. And the fastest way to harness this power? As often as possible, as many times as you can possibly remember….take three deep breaths as you remind yourself to be…
Here, Now. Here, Now. Here, Now.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. I can’t help but giggle as I assemble this a few weeks earlier than I normally would so I can take some downtime in December. The moment of you reading this will happen several weeks in the future from the time that I’m writing it out. And when that time comes…the one where you are actually reading this, the moment that I wrote this all out will be be long past. Oh goodness, I’m getting wobbly…I better quit here and take a few additional HERE NOW breaths before I get sucked into a timeless vortex that will bewilder, confuse, and overwhelm me beyond reason. Gah!
